


Witching Hour Rumors

by DemensionalSixer



Category: Archie Comics, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: First time writing these characters, Hinted Poly Relationship, Jughead centric, No beta reader, Other, POV switches around, Slight Canon Divergence, Supernatural Elements, aro/ace jughead, forgive me if they are OOC, lowkey weird anyways, riverdale is a little weird, sorry for the mistakes!!, tags will change as needed, will not focus on relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 11:16:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9654032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemensionalSixer/pseuds/DemensionalSixer
Summary: Archie can't sleep, so he dips into Pops to find Jughead, as expected. They have a (weird) conversation. But this is just the start.





	1. Jughead at 3 Am is the same as Jughead at 3 pm

\----

There would probably be no way to understand people completely. Humans were an enigma,  
They were unpredictable and unreliable. But they were also kind, silly, and passionate.  
Jughead Jones understood this and more about people. He'd been spending a lot of time writing about them. He spent a lot of time around them. Well, when he wanted, anyways. 

School (and Pops, more on that later) was one of the best places to observe those most relevant around him. It gave him untold opportunities. He gathered his experiences and listened to the stories and gossip. He stood in the background while letting others take the front. He stuck to himself, and let everyone elses lives bleed into him through the backdrop of the chatter and white noise. 

While he didn't understand everything about people, he understood some things about himself clearly. He was different from his peers the same way everyone was different from everybody else. He had his hopes, and dreams, and trepidations about murdered students and manipulative teachers. 

He did not like people the same way many did. He was not interested in dating, or sex in general, nor did he give much time to the conversation regarding these things. He let Archie and his other friends do the talking for him. Hell, Just walking down the hallway at Riverdale high was enough for him to gather the state of relationships around this place. (The headphones he wore remedied this easily.)  
Okay, sometimes he wasn't sure, sometimes he wondered why he had never been interested. There had been times when he had given it thought, and had really, really tried his hand at opening himself up, exposing himself to those avenues. But, due to his disinterest, none of these attempts lasted long. 

But that was behind him. For now he was sure of who he was. 

Because everything else around him was far more interesting. 

 

It was 3 AM, or about to be. There wasn't any reason to mark the time change.

Jughead sat in his usual booth, doing his usual thing, at his laptop, typing up the next rough pages of his future novel, barely hearing the music still issuing from the headphones around his neck, not on his ears like they should be. 

The click-clack of his keys stopped at the same time the bell above the door jingled, alerting everyone around them of another interloper. It wasn't one of the usual nighthawks. (While Jughead rarely talked to anyone sans a few particular daytime regulars, he knew the faces of those locals strange enough to be here at the witching hour.)

"We have school tomorrow. Shouldn't you be in bed?"  
"Oh come on Jug, I could say the same for you." Archie said, a smile on his lips as he slid into the booth. 

"True enough. However this is the usual thing for me. But you. Why are you here? This isn't your time."  
"Well... I couldn't sleep. I knew there was a chance you could be here.. So I took it and decided to drop in." 

It was now 3 AM, like usual. Except when it wasn't. 

"Do you want me to leave?" Archie asked, extending his thumb towards the door.  
"You don't have to if you buy me a burger."

"Alright, done." Archie said with a small chuckle, turning in his seat. "Hey Cammie, could we get a couple burgers here please?"  
Cammie was the keeper around here after 1 AM, when Pops retired for the evening.  
Cammie looked up. "Sure Arch, comin up." She replied. 

Archie turned back, observing Jughead as his friend typed a few words out. "So why couldn't you sleep?" Jughead asked, clicking the backspace a few times to delete a couple words. Archie was great, but his presence was a little distracting. 

"Ah, well... It's just one of those nights. Y'know, lots of thoughts. My legs wont stay still, heartburn." 

Jughead shook his head, trying hard not to smile and kept typing. "I suppose I get where you're coming from. I wouldn't be here if I'd been a person known to sleep well."  
"So what keeps you up these days? Other than your novel."  
"Hm." Jughead thought about the answer, keys clicking. "Trying to make sure my friends don't get into too much shit. Wondering when my next favorite album will come out. Rumors of the sub audible."  
"The what?"  
"Nothing."  
Archie still wanted to ask, but he wasn't so sure he was ready to take on the strange ideas his friend had this late at night.  
"Do you hear it?"  
"Huh?" Archie's brow knit together, looking closer at him.  
"This." Jughead said, tapping loudly on the laptop keys.  
"Well yeah, I hear it."  
"But you didn't until I pointed it out."  
"...Right."  
"That's it, the sub audible. The sounds of nothing. The white noise of our environments. You don't hear it except when you do, when you're aware. But then it all fades into the background the moment you're distracted." Archie jumped then when Cammie suddenly set down their plates. "Two burgers, made you up a double Jug." She said with a wink.  
"Thanks Cammie." The two said in idle unison.  
Jughead closed his laptop, sliding it aside so he could bring the burger around and give it his full attention. He took a bite, savoring the salt and the grease in his mouth. Archie dug into his burger as well, ketchup dripping out the back onto the plate. 

"So why are they rumors?"  
"Hm?"  
"The sub audible, why is it a rumor?"  
"Because those that talk about it are the only ones aware of it. Any one outside of that circle may just consider it a rumor, an unverified account of the musings of a preoccupied high-school student in the middle of the night."  
Archie was quiet for the moment as he took a bite of his burger, Jughead took advantage of it and continued to scarf down his own, wishing he'd bribed Archie into buying him a coffee as well.  
Archie licked his lips, taking in the last few bites. 

"It's really not something that anyone should worry about. Really most people don't notice and don't need to notice. But..."  
"But?" Archie asked, wondering what else Jughead could have to say about more of this weird shit. 

"But, I think there's a reason some people notice it. I haven't figured out why, but it's something else I'm working on."  
"That's really interesting. Let me know if you figure it out."  
"You're actually curious about it?"  
"Well, why not? You're the one telling me about it, and... well, I think you might be onto something."

Archie and Jughead both understood that not everything in this town was set in stone.  
Things changed, things were weird. 

Things happened that not everyone could understand or know about. And whatever these things were, they would occur, whether they wanted them to or not. 

Riverdale was a town of interesting people and interesting occurrences. And not everything could be explained... 

"Thanks for the burger Arch. You came in at the right time."  
"When your stomach demanded it."  
"Sure." 

Archie had finished his burger, and he sat with Jughead for maybe another hour.  
At around 4 AM, Archie figured it was time to bail. They did have school, and after a little prodding, he got Jughead to give in, and the two of them left Pops, walking home too early in the morning, full, and both thinking about their own troubles, and each others. 

They parted at the corner of the street. 

"Night Arch."  
"Night Jughead." 

Archie turned, hands sliding into his pocket, thinking about their conversation, the rumors of the sub audible, and how shitty he was going to feel in the morning when he woke up for school.


	2. Dreaming Glass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie and friends discuss an accident in the school.  
> 

Archie jerked awake when the bell rang. He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep until then. There was a rustling as the students around him got up, gathering books and papers. Jughead, across the room, shot him a glance, he quirked brow.

Since last week, Archie hadn't been sleeping well. They discussed this much at Pop's diner the other day. He hadn't told Jug the reason why, but he was going to soon. 

Out in the hall, Jughead fell in step with Archie. "What's goin’ on Arch? You dont usually fall asleep in class."  
"Just tired Jug, haven't been sleeping well." Archie muttered, brushing past students, making his way to his locker.  
"Since last week, right?"  
"Well...yeah, about then I guess, what does it matter?"  
"Don't worry about it right now. You're going to tell me about it soon though, aren't you?" Jughead asked, leaning against the locker while Archie switched out his science book for a math one. Archie wasn't sure if Jughead was psychic or just perceptive, but he figured if anyone could see something was wrong it'd be him.  
"I will jug. This weekend. I just want to get through the rest of the day." Archie sighed.  
Jughead didn't press, he could hear the irritation starting in Archie's tone, and he wasn't going to make him angry now. Archie slung his backpack on, closing the locker with his foot. "See you later."  
"Yeah, later." Jughead replied. He knew something was up because Archie had been sleeping well enough up until last week. And the same time, Jughead had been compelled to tell him about the concept of the subaudible. Compelled because he hadn't been interested in telling him... But something wanted him to. He knew this and understood it and honestly, was a little freaked out about it. 

He made his way down the hall, listening to the conversations, or really, the voices of his peers, the footsteps and creaking hinges of old doors.  
here was something in noise, or the sub-noise. The rustling of papers and scratching pencils. The shifting of chairs and clothing. Footsteps in the hallways and slamming locker doors.  
Sometimes if he listened close enough, he was almost sure he could hear something in the noises no one else noticed. He could just...listen...

""""""""""

Focus on the inane noises, the unfocused backless voices and conversations.

_‘’ ‘’’’”””” ‘“””””  
‘’’’ “..a” ‘’’’’_

Let it all bleed together in a jumble of incomprehensible white noise.

_'''''.....la""”ella""_  
'''''''''''  
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"""""" " "

 

Like that. 

 

Jughead jerked, letting out a breath as he came back to the world around him. He had heard it, certainly heard it that time. Something was there, something that needed them to listen.

He put his headphones on, and turned up the volume. 

 

__________________________________________________________

 

“Would anyone mind telling me what happened to the girls bathroom today? And I mean like, without all the speculative bullshit.” Veronica said as she sat down at the table.  
It was lunchtime, and everyone in the school was talking about it by now, but accounts were sketchy and quickly becoming baseless rumor. Betty looked up from her less than appealing looking lunch, looking over at Veronica. “Someone, or something smashed all the mirrors in the girls bathroom. A student walking down the hallway heard it apparently, went in and didn’t see anyone. Just a bunch of glass on the floor.” 

“That’s it?” Kevin interjected. He’d heard about it, too, but somehow he thought the idea of smashing mirrors would sound more...exciting. Although, no one being there, that was a little more interesting sounding.  
“Supposedly. Someone had to do it though… I mean, mirrors don’t just smash themselves, right?” Betty said.  
“Okay, but who was the student?” Kevin asked, reaching over and taking a fry from Bettys plate. May not be the best but they were at least edible.

“I don’t know, heard it could be just about anyone by now.” Betty finished, setting down her lackluster sandwich. 

“Well whoever did it sure doesn't get points for creativity.” Veronica replied, taking a bite out of the chicken salad sandwich she’d packed. No way was she going to eat anything this school put on a plate and called food. She glanced over, hearing footsteps in the grass, smiling as she saw Archie with is lunch. She and Betty made room between them, letting Archie sit himself down. 

“Oh Archie, what do you think about the mirror thing?” Betty asked, giving him a little nudge with her elbow. Archie had to of heard about it. 

“I saw it guys.” Archie said, getting his lunch out while the rest of them fell quiet. After a few seconds, Kevin spoke up.  
“You saw it?”  
“Yeah, I was… walking down the hall, I grabbed the wrong book. So I had to go back and get the right one. I heard glass shattering… I looked into the bathroom and, I swear I’m not making this up. But there wasn’t anyone in there. No one ran out, and there wasn't anyone in the stalls. But there’s something else...guys…” 

They all looked at Archie, lunch forgotten.  
“There’s something I didn’t tell Weatherbee. I know he didn’t believe me that there wasn’t anyone in the bathroom, so I didn’t think I should tell him this too. But… I’m certain I saw someone in the mirror glass on the ground. Standing with me.” Archie looked around at their faces, skeptical, but he knew they would at least partially believe him.

“It...sure wouldn’t be the first time weird shit happened around here.” Betty finally spoke.

It was true that there were some strange occurrences that happened in Riverdale no one could explain. Pictures going missing, things that walked around at night only at a specific hour, the weird flowers that sometimes grew in the graveyard no one was supposed to pick at night. (Usually, if one did this, something bad happened, and a lot of time it ended in a visit to the hospital.) But whether you were one of the residents to believe the superstitions or not, they were there.

“But you’re absolutely sure you didn't just imagine it Arch?”  
“I’m sure Betts. Now I don’t know if anything else will happen, but.. I do think there’s more to this.”  
“More to… what, a uh, a haunting? Is that what this would be?” Veronica asked, hand gesturing.

“Maybe that’s what it is. I don’t know yet. Jughead thinks something’s up as well. Guess we’ll see.”

“Okay, well I’m done with this lunch, I don’t even know why I bothered.” Kevin said, standing with his tray. “See you guys later, I’m going to go find something else to eat.” He said.  
Archie snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. “Oh my god…” Veronica muttered, rolling her eyes, but unable to hide the smile on her lips. 

 

________________________________________________________

Lunch ended, and the rest of the school day went on without mishap.  
Archie hung out with Betty and Veronica after school, and before long went home. He got his homework done, and caught up on some of the stuff he’d been procrastinating on. 

After a few hours of playing with his guitar, and browsing the internet, texting Betty and Veronica, he decided to turn in. Archie didn’t have high hopes for a good nights sleep, but he had no choice but to try

Try  
Try….

_t_  
_r_  
_y_

 

He was standing in the woods, a restless wind blowing gently around him.  
His feet were wet and cold, and he couldn't move. In front of him, about five feet, was a wych elm, large, tall, its broad spindly branches stretching out above him through the gloom. The knotted base was wide, and he could see 

 

_white_

 

He could see something stuck in the branches. Archie stepped forward, the grass brushing against his bare legs. He stopped, a feeling of dread creeping up his back, his heart beating faster  
Cloth hung there, a shred of white, stark against the dark barch of the tree.  
This is usually where the dream would stop, he would reach up, maybe to grab the cloth, but he would always wake up before he could. 

But the dream went on.

Without thinking much about it, he reached up, and grabbed the branch of the tree, and pulled himself up. 

He climbed just enough so he could see into the hollow of the trunk. 

A dead body sat there, hunched. An alabastar white skull grinned up at him. Archie could see the dark clumps of hair still attached to the skull. He gagged, stomach rolling. 

But then the body moved, before Archie could even yell, an emaciated hand reached up and grabbed his face, the exposed bone at the ends digging into his cheeks. It yanked his head down, bringing his face very close to the bone. He was so close now he could smell the dry leaves and musk of rotten clothing. He glanced down, to see her other arm ended in a stump, her left hand was missing. 

The teeth of the skull parted slightly, a lipless voice spoke.

 

_“Bella.”_

_“In the wych elm….”_  
_“....help me  
Archie.”_

 

She pushed him then, throwing him back out of the tree. He swiped at the branches and his fingertips just missed. For one breathless moment he was airborne, then hit the ground. 

 

Archie woke with a start, eyes wide and glassy, he sat up quickly, shoulders heaving as he gasped for breath. He threw the blankets off of himself, getting out of bed. 

He grabbed his phone off the nightstand, thumbs tapping quickly. 

_‘Jug we gotta talk, now. Please tell me you’re awake.’_

About ten minutes later, he got a reply. 

_‘Alright. You know where to find me.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im not the greatest at writing dialogue, but I hope this was at least readable. Comments and kudos appreciated. 
> 
> Part of this story is inspired by an old story about a womans body found in a Wych elm back in the 1940s. I've adapted parts of it to write into this fic, search up 'who put bella in the Wych Elm' if you are interested in learning more about it. 
> 
> Also, I'm heavily referencing the concept of the sub audible from the Steven King novel, 'The Girl Who loved Tom Gordon'
> 
> I haven't written much fic, so if this seems sloppy, rushed, or otherwise just not the best, I am at fault.
> 
> Also please let me know what you think, feedback is important for me, and I at least like to know I'm doing well enough to   
> keep going?


End file.
